1. The Russian Revolution
Outline 9.2

2. Tsar Alexander I Reign: 1801 – 1825 Considered an Enlightened Despot
Became conservative after a plot to kidnap him and a conspiracy among his officers
Proposed the Holy Alliance which was designed to stop liberalism

3. Holy Alliance
coalition created by the monarchist great powers of Russia, Austria and Prussia.
after the ultimate defeat of Napoleon
formed to instill the divine right of kings and Christian values in European political life (that’s why it’s “holy”)

4. Nicholas I
Reign 1825 – 1855
Known as one of the most reactionary monarchs
Supported divine right
Viewed himself as an autocrat (all power and wealth is with the tsar)

5. Monument to Nicholas I

6. Nicholas I
He believed that suppressing liberalism was crucial to maintaining order
Under Nicholas I, Russia became a police state
Russia became heavily censored with limited education and no representative assemblies

7. Intellectuals during Nicholas I Reign
Slavophiles
Westernizers
Believed that the culture of the Russian village was superior
Opposed autocracy but supported the tsar
Thought the mir (village) was the basis for future socialism
Wanted to industrialize
Wanted constitutionalism
Wanted to end serfdom
Revolution is the key to change

8. Crimean War
1853 – Russia defeated

9. Crimean War
Defeat forced Russia to modernize or continue to be vulnerable
In order to modernize, the serfs would have to be freed
Nobility resisted efforts to modernize

10. Alexander II
Reign
Most liberal ruler in Russian history prior to the 20th century
Still very autocratic
Believed serfdom had stunted Russian modernization

11. Serfdom
Serfs were an unlimited source of labor for the nobles and so the nobles had no desire to change or improve

12. Emancipation Act 1861 Abolished serfdom Peasants could Own property
Buy land
Marry freely
Vote

13. Alexander II In 1864, Alexander established Zemstvos
Local or village assemblies
Provided a measure of self-government
Gave peasants a voice but still controlled by the nobles
Successful in solving problems of education, medical needs, and transportion
Largely abolished in 1917

14. Other Reforms by Alexander II
Improved the judicial system
Reduced terms of military service
Eased brutal corporal punishment
Relaxed censorship
Liberalized education
Stimulated industrialization by building railroads

15. Alexander II Became more conservative late in his reign
Assassinated in 1881 by The People’s Will members who bombed his carriage

16. Alexander III
Reign 1881 – 1894
Most reactionary czar of the 19th century
Wanted to rule by “Autocracy, Orthodoxy, and Russification” (loyalty to and rule by the tsar, protection of the Russian Orthodox Church, and nationalism)

17. Alexander III
Wanted to reverse the liberal policies of his father (Alexander II)
Encouraged anti-Semitism (part of the protection of the Russian Orthodox Church)
Theodor Herzl: advocated a Jewish homeland in the Holy Land as a way to escape persecution in Europe

18. Alexander III Attempted to improve industrialization
Count S. Y. Witte (right) worked to increase industrialization and aggressively sought western capital to build factories
Russia’s economic problems were still severe by 1900 and were made worse by the Russo-Japanese War

19. Nicholas II
Reign 1894 – 1917
Came to power after his father, Alex III, died from kidney problems
During his reign, Russia went from a great power to collapse
Also known as Bloody Nicholas because of the violence during his rule

20. Russo-Japanese War (1904 – 1905)
Russia was trying to expand into Asia
Defeated by the Japanese, including the destruction of the Russian fleet
After, the Russians turned away from acquiring territory in Asia and focused on expanding control of the Balkans

21. Causes of the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian social hierarchy created inequities and abuse of the lower classes
These strains led to growing call for reforms

22. Causes of the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russo-Japanese War: Russia’s poor showing became a major cause of the 1905 Revolution

23. Causes of the Russian Revolution of 1905
Weak economy
Expansion of liberalism
Emerging middle class

24. Bloody Sunday, Jan. 22, 1905
200,000 workers and peasants marched on the tsar’s winter palace to ask for reforms
The Army killed 300 in cold blood

25. October Manifesto of 1905
Created the Duma: national assembly that advised the tsar
Representatives elected by universal male suffrage
Granted freedom of speech, assembly, and press
Tsar retained absolute veto
Dissolved by Nicholas twice in 1906

26. Rise of Socialism in Russia
1898 Social Democratic Worker’s Party formed
Led by Vladamir Lenin 
He was heir to Marx in socialist thoughts
Leader of the Bolsheviks (future Communists)

27. Lenin’s Philosophy Three basic ideas:
Capitalism could be destroyed only by violent revolution
Socialist revolution possible in some countries, such as backward Russia
Needed a highly disciplined workers’ party which would be controlled by elite intellectuals and full-time revolutionaries

28. The February Revolution of 1917
Overthrow of Nicholas II
Caused by economic problems and the Russo-Japanese War defeat
Most important cause: the tremendous human and economic suffering during WWI
Had caused large numbers of deaths and food shortages
The tsar was an ineffective leader

29. End of the Romanov Dynasty
Nicholas II abdicated his throne on March 2, 1917
He and his family were executed in July 1918
Nicholas and his immediate family were recognized as saints by the Russian Orthodox Church

30. October Revolution of 1917
After the February Revolution, a Provisional Government was established
The Provisional government implemented liberal reforms but rejected outright social revolution
Russia continued to be plagued by anarchy
In April 1917, Lenin rejected the provisional government and called for a socialist revolution

31. October Revolution of 1917
On October 25, 1917, Leon Trotsky, leader of the Petrograd Soviet (Red Army), led the Soviet overthrow of the provisional government
The Bolsheviks (Communists) took control of the government even though they were a minority
The October Revolution led to a communist dictatorship

32. Soviet Union under Lenin
Gave land to peasants
Gave direct control of factories to local workers
Took Russia out of WWI to stop the suffering
Moved the government to Moscow
His actions led to the Russian Civil War

33. Victim of Secret Police
Russian Civil War
Reds (Bolsheviks) vs. Whites (old Army officers and others)
Both sides brutal
Bolsheviks mobilized the home front via “War Communism”
Earliest form of socialism in the Soviet Union
Total war concept
Nationalized all land
Ended private trade
Cheka (secret police)
Victim of Secret Police

34. Effects of the Russian Revolution
In 1921, the Reds won
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was created in 1922
15 million dead, economy ruined
Creation of the world’s first communist society: one of the monumental events of the 20th century